Alternative to Dynaudio 1.3SE

Mac's have such great resale value, I'd look to sell that before the 1.3se. As for the Sim, the bass is the opposite of Mac, it just seems fast and tight as opposed to slow and full, it's hard to explain unless you've heard both brands before. Even the smaller integrateds are the same way, but since you have a tube pre go for the w3 or w5!!! Match made in heaven! Plinius also mates well for some people, but I'm afraid the combo would be too sleepy with a tube pre. Let us know how it works out.

Erik, I had thought of going to a more powerful amp but wasn't sure if that would solve the problem. I may have to give it a try. I know the Dynaudios love power/current.

Did you try to drive them with a more powerful amp? You might not except such a rough comment, but I used to drive mine, which are also two feet from the wall measesured as you desribed, with a MF 3.2 power (150 watt) amp and the room was booming business all the time. Swapped the amp for its bigger sibling, the 308 ower amp (250 watt), allowed the bass to become tight, detailed and controlled, with all boominess having disappeared then. This also induced the midrange to open up further and the total sound got amazingly good.

Cheers, Erik

Perkadin, I'm using a McIntosh MC162 amp with a Rogue 99Magnum preamp and a Cary 303/100 cd player. I have read that Sim and Plinius are good matches for Dynaudios.

I had a pair of Dynaudio 1.8 MKII's.
A pair of Carolina Audio JTM's will be your answer.
They can be flat back up againt the wall and don't need to be played LOUD to sound alive like the Dynaudio's.

GTF

What kind of amp do you have? My contours were about 18-20in from the wall and the bass was just right. I used a Sim Audio i5080. Sims known for a very fast and realistic bass sound that some people might even describe as lean. It has a fast decay so it's gone before it becomes boomy. Hope that helps, but you could get the I5 integrated or w3 power amp depending upon what equipment your are using now.

If you like the Dynaudio soundproint, than go back to earlier generations of dynaudio speakers. The Craft has similar, but front ported box with esotar tweeter. I think it is even better than the 1.3SE. Or try to find a Contour I. Its rear port is closed. I had this loudspeaker, I have compared it to 1.3SE and I am not sure that that 1.3 SE is better than the I.

The Tylers are nice but you will get less bass. I really like the 1.3SE's but they do need correct placement. If I were you, I would consider two options. Tyler Taylo Reference Monitors with the Seas Millenium Upgrade Tweeter or Proac Response 1SCs.

Good luck to you.

Chris

Goatwuss, yes, I've stuffed the ports but it seems to take some life out of the speakers. I used to own the Dynaudio 72's and while I liked them, they are not in the same league as the 1.3SE's nor should they be given the price difference. Maybe I'll look into a subwoofer. Thanks for the suggestions.

"The Dynaudio Audience 72 and 72SE (upgraded with drivers from the Countour 1.8 mkII) are front ported speakers and will fit your budget from the used market."... but they won't sound as good as the Dyn 1.3SEs.

Though the Tyler's are undoubtably quality speakers, it's usually not a good idea to change from a speaker whose sound you know you like to another line without an audition. I've wasted time/money on that.

Have you tried stuffing the ports? It's what I do with my S1.4 because I'm in a similar situation.

Another good option is to use a good subwoofer and high-pass the speakers. The Dyn 1.3SE needs a sub for the lowest octave anyway, so you can have the sub handle the freq. below 80hz, and have your dyns only work with the stuff over 80hz. This is how I have my dyns setup and it works great. I use the velodyne dd15, with room correction, etc.

The Dynaudio Audience 72 and 72SE (upgraded with drivers from the Countour 1.8 mkII) are front ported speakers and will fit your budget from the used market.